As much of the gaming world waits to see the impact of the proposed Eldorado Resorts Caesars merger, Atlantic City is facing a dominance in the market by Eldorado seldom seen in the resort.
If the $17.3 billion deal between Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment is approved, the company would own four of Atlantic City’s nine casinos—Bally’s, Caesars, Harrah’s Resort and Tropicana—and control 40 percent of the city’s casino employees and 37 percent of total gaming revenue.
That presents a problem for New Jersey regulators, but most analysts are expecting Eldorado to begin making cuts in its resort holdings on its own.
Eldorado CEO Thomas Reeg has said he is looking for nearly $500 million in “synergies,” or cost-cutting and efficiency measures, from the proposed deal, according to various reports.
Bob Ambrose, an industry consultant and adjunct professor of casino management at Fairleigh Dickinson University told the Press of Atlantic City that cuts in Atlantic City would be no surprise.
“I’ve seen time and time again when these companies come in and they take over, that they look for ways to cut,” Ambrose said. “It’s just the nature of the beast that they look for this generic term called efficiencies.”
Ambrose said layoffs of casino workers would be one area the company would explore. That has already gained the attention of UNITE HERE Local 54, the casino union that represents nearly one-third of hospitality and hotel workers in Atlantic City.
“We’re going to be demanding answers,” Bob McDevitt, the union’s president told the Press. “We’ve had a lot of battles here in Atlantic City, and we’re up to whatever is put in front of us. But the one thing that workers desire is a workplace that is secure and where they can make money and provide for their families.”
Eldorado already operates Tropicana Entertainment and the city’s Tropicana Casino, and McDevitt said the relationship between the union and the casino’s management has been positive.
“Our hope is that Eldorado takes that philosophy to Caesars, but our concern is that it’s such a huge jump,” he said. “I’m patiently waiting to hear what Eldorado thinks as opposed to what people who observe the industry think.”
